Professor Frank Yam,
CISA, CIA, CFE, CFSA, FHKCS, EMIL, BMATH

Professor Frank Yam is a highly-respected global business leader with over 35 years of
executive management experience as an IT expert, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor.
He previously held management positions at many leading international institutions including KPMG, Prudential Insurance, AXA Insurance, Guardian Insurance, and Standard Chartered Bank. In 1997, Professor Yam founded the Focus Strategic Group - a consulting group with various subsidiaries providing Digital Transformation, Cybersecurity and IT Governance advisory services. He has also invested and founded many successful start-ups in the last 20 years.

Professor Yam has been very active in professional and community services and served in
leadership role of numerous local and international professional bodies. Most notably, he
served six terms as Director and International Vice Chairman of ISACA International. He
was also the Founder of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Hong Kong Chapter,
President of ISACA China Hong Kong Chapter, and Council Member & Chairman of
Information Security Specialists Group of the Hong Kong Computer Society. Professor Yam currently serves as the Independent Non-Executive Chairman of the University of Waterloo’s Research Centre for Information Integrity and Information Systems Assurance (UWCISA); Director & ExCo Member, Digital Transformation Committee Chairman and Innovation Committee Member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong; Governor & IT Committee Chair of the Institute of Internal Auditors Hong Kong; Certification Board Member of the Hong Kong Institute for IT Professional Certification; IT Advisor of the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation, Adminstration and Finance Committee Member of the Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society; Founding Advisor for the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Information Systems Program; and Honorary Advisor of the Hong Kong Institute of Security. He has recently been elected as General Committee Member of the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, one of the largest trade and commerce organisations in Hong Kong.
 

Professor Yam is a very popular speaker of a wide variety of topics at seminars and
conferences for universities, professional organisations, business associations and
government agencies, including many Central Banks, the INTERPOL and the Asian
Development Bank. In recent years, he has been focusing on promoting the awareness and
best practices of Cyber-security, Digital Trust, Entrepreneurship and Innovation based on
Design-Thinking, Corporate and IT Governance, Internal Audit, Risk Management and
Internal Controls, Frauds, Emerging Technologies, AI, and Quantum Computing.
Professor Yam is the recipient of numerous awards for his contribution to the profession,
including the prestigious Eugene Frank Founders Award (ISACA’s highest honour), Hall of
Fame (Life-time Achievement Award), Outstanding Chapter Leader, and International Best
Speaker Award by ISACA International. He has also the recipient of the Alumni
Achievement Medal of the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Mathematics in 2005.
 

Professor Yam was elected as Fellow of several leading professional associations, including
the Hong Kong Institute of Directors, the Hong Kong Computer Society, The Institute of
Public Accountants, the Institute of Financial Accountants, and the Hong Kong IT Joint
Council. In addition to the Bachelor of Mathematics Honours Co-op degree (Chartered
Accountancy & Information Systems) from Canada’s University of Waterloo, he also has an
Executive Master degree in Innovation Leadership (with Distinction) from the Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, and received the Outstanding Student Award. Having a passion for
coaching the next generation in the Innovation ecosystem, Professor Yam enjoys mentoring
and coaching start-ups, focusing on Innovations and Technologies. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the Nanjing Audit University, Part-time Lecturer and Postdoc
Programme Mentor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Mentor at the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks.